Fair Weather Vegan

Teen Nick To Launch Nineties Block

Damn you, lack of cable.  Nickelodeon has finally keyed into the revenue possibilities of giving us 25-35 year-olds a return to the quality shows of our childhoods and adolescence.  The movement was apparently spurred by the number of fans these shows have on Facebook; another win for the social media revolution.  Several of the current or proposed line-up choices will appear in my series on the best children's television, including All That (which I will write about in combination with The Amanda Show since each had clever aspects but neither hit it completely out of the park) and Hey Arnold.  For those who like their kids TV hokey, as many of us actually did when we were kids, I also heard on Facebook that Hey Dude is being released on DVD.  It's pretty unaccountable what will capture imaginations at that age.  Now, if you'll excuse me, back to the onerous task of rewatching the whole of Avatar: The Last Airbender so I can remember the details for my capstone post.  The things this project puts me through ;)

Android App Review: Easy Phone Tunes

The corner of Church Street is largely responsible for my purchase of a new phone, since if I had dropped my six-and-a-half-year-old Nokia for the hundredth time somewhere with better lighting, I would probably have been able to locate the battery.  Instead, I left it to its fate and was without a working cell phone.  This is such a nerve-wracking situation that I made a decision in five minutes that would normally have taken me weeks. I simply grabbed the most expensive free phone AT&T had, in other words the phone that would have cost the most money had I paid for it without buying a plan. This turned out to be an Android phone, the Motorola Backflip, and for the most part I adore it.  I love having a full keyboard and the option to watch an unencumbered screen.  I like not being in thrall to Macintosh for every piece of technology I own.  However, since I do have a Mac laptop (such as it is after three + years), my one regret in not getting an Iphone was not being able to use Itunes.  But dammit, this is the 21st century.  There has to be an app that allows me to use Itunes on my Droid-enabled phone....

There are two versions of the Easy Phone Tunes app.  The free version will transfer music only, while the pay version will transfer podcasts as well.  The free app also transfers some non-copyrighted videos, but I haven't systematically tested this function yet.  Since the only time I manage to catch up on podcasts is on my commute, I figured the pay app was worth the $3.27 (1 pound 99 pence plus a small foreign transaction fee, since it's British).  In general I'm quite pleased with it.  The music and podcasts go directly into my existing AT&T music player with no problem.  However there are some aspects of the functionality that are annoying.  Most importantly, the user doesn't have complete control over the transfer.  You can't add songs one by one as you might do with a regular Ipod.  Your options are to have the app add your whole library, and despite the Backflip's fairly large storage capacity it won't all fit on your phone so you get a somewhat random assortment, or you can create specific playlists to add.  Another hitch is that for several years Itunes was the only music service to use built-in electronic copy protection.  So the app will load any song you ripped from your own CDs and any song you purchased from another service, but not songs bought from Itunes during the period prior to their deciding that the policy was incredibly stupid.  If Itunes songs from this era comprise the vast majority of your music you might want to go with another option. 

Summary: This app is useful if you don't want to lug around both your Droid phone and an Ipod.  It's especially recommended for those who have already divided their Itunes libraries into playlists, and those whose libraries are largely compiled from CDs or other free sources. 

The Olmec Exhibition And Park Chow- Both Worth A Look

The DeYoung is known for its lavish exhibitions which cause lines to double and triple back on themselves in front of the museum, and the concomitant price tag.  In my experience these shows have been good value for the dollar, since they're usually huge and often contain art which I would normallly have to travel to a foreign country to see.  Plus, you get two dollars off your ticket if you get there by MUNI.  The recently-opened exhibition of artifacts from the Olmec civilization is stunning. The enigmatic grimace of the statues, the massive size of many of the pieces created by a culture that apparently had neither pack animals nor the wheel, and the intricately carved and deeply expressive smaller figures all make for a fascinating and affecting experience.  For me as a professional in the humanities it was an added treat to see how many of the tags basically said 'we don't have a clue what this means.'  Since archaeologists have not found more than rudimentary evidence of Olmec writing we can only guess at the symbolic significance of much that we see.  The Olmec also apparently preferred clear lines, which make the Maya artifacts that were influenced by them seem positively cluttered.  So much explanatory writing!  Chill out, folks! 

The Very Nice People and I took a lunch break before returning to the museum, and I decided to give Park Chow another chance despite a mediocre dinner experience with the parents a few years ago.  Lunch is definitely a better choice for Park Chow's upscale diner fare.  My fish tacos were solid and accompanied by small, crisp french fries.  There was an excellent beet and shaved goat cheese salad, with the perfect accompaniment of grapefruit and a light, unobtrusive dressing.  Another member of our party had a tofu noodle dish which he enjoyed.  The close quarters and noise will not be to all tastes, nor are the prices fantastic, but you do get a good amount of well-conceived, simple American food. 

The Best Thing You'll Read All Day

Jaron Lanier's brilliant critique of Wikileaks from The Atlantic, "The Hazards Of Nerd Supremacy."  I'm posting it here as a Word file for my friends and readers: download LanierNerdSupremacy.  I retained the original magazine-style short paragraphs, which is what makes it seem longer than it is.  Don't be daunted; it's well worth it.  Obviously this piece is the intellectual property of Lanier, and I make it available here only because I think everyone should read it and that it's something people will want to keep. Whether that's because you vociferously disagree with it or because it gives voice to what you've previously been thinking in a more inchoate way is up to you.

Ambiguity In Children's Television: The Clone Wars As Test Case

This piece is an addendum to the series on classic children's TV.  On occasion I will do posts on shows that don't qualify for the main series, but give me a chance to explore the edges of 'quality' in this genre. 

Like most Americans of a certain age and inclination, I tuned in to one of the early episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  I hated it.  As someone who has refused to watch the first three movies, I didn't understand what was going on. I found the CGI cold and forbidding, and the constant battles both chaotic and boring.  After a couple of years, though, it became clear that this show was not going away and was even going to be important in the history of kids' TV.  Having seen enough examples of amazing animation, I decided to give it another try and have come to a grudging affection for the damn thing.  It turned out to be an excellent example of the strengths and weaknesses of George Lucas' vision. 

Bonus Track

The plan was to include video in my series on classic kids' TV, but the first post didn't have any.  Here, as an addendum, is the title sequence to Phil of the Future:

Exemplary Children's TV: Potentially Good News

It should be no surprise that a series I plan to include is Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is one of the most sophisticated shows ever made for children and is a favorite of many adults.  I've just received word that Nickelodeon has green-lighted a follow-up.  The reason this is only potentially good news thus far is that aside from the somewhat disappointing and quick wrap-up to the season three conclusion, Avatar was almost perfect  and I'm a little worried they're going to screw it up if they do more.  Still, if the same creative team is involved it will one of TV's most anticipated debuts when it airs. 

Totally Off-Topic: Phil of the Future

The first installment in an ongoing series on the best examples of children's television.

Phil of The Future aired 2004-2006 on the Disney Channel. 

A time machine malfunction strands 22nd century ninth-grader Phil Diffy and his family in the present, where they must evade detection while posing as normal denizens of our time.  It's difficult enough since culture and technology have changed radically in a century (the parents find fridges hilarious, and in the future everyone's little toe has evolved away), but a caveman has also stowed on board the time machine during the Diffys' vacation in the past, and eventually gets adopted as a pet/surrogate sibling.  Phil (Rickey Ullman) forms a close friendship with a popular but quirky girl at H.G. Wells High (Aly Michalka) who dreams of a career in TV journalism, while his sister Pim (Amanda Bruckner) tries to cement a reputation as the school's premiere troublemaker. A series of futuristic  gadgets, including one which allows brains to swap within bodies, help the Diffys navigate life's everyday problems.  Naturally, a meddling and incompetent vice principal becomes determined to uncover the family's true identities.*

I came up with two theories as to why this show, which is amusing and creative, only lasted two seasons.  One of them is the male lead.  Most of the currently successful shows on children's TV, especially the Disney Channel, are for girls and about girls.  Those that are feature boys (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and its sequel, for instance) star non-threatening guys, surrounded by a large enough cast of women to get their own significant plots.  Suite Life is also about twins, one of whom is the nerd and coded more feminine, while the slob is coded more masculine but also played by the roly-poly Sprouse sibling which makes him, in this idiom, relatively harmless.  Phil as played by Ullman is actually a particularly sweet version of adolescent boyhood, which is one of the reasons this show is so appealing and possibly why it didn't work well enough with boys either to avoid cancellation.  But the narrative is still from his perspective, with Michalka's Keely in support, which doesn't help with the girls.**  Phil's sister Pim, mistress of mayhem, and her ongoing battle with the tooth-rottingly sweet Debbie Burwick is one of the most entertaining points for me as an adult but  younger viewers may find her hard to identify with, as their entertainment world is full of girls who are more clearly admirable. 

There are also a couple of deeper genre problems.  Fantasy is wildly more popular with contemporary girls than sci-fi, and plots revolving around a secret identity are hard to maintain.  Both of these factors, as expressed in the teen population, contributed to the demise of Kyle XY, and certainly the former to the cancellation of the brilliant and hilarious The Middleman, beloved by critics.   Phil also shares with Middleman a sort of camp quality to its aesthetic, which is a tough line to walk, especially in a children's show.  My theory about fantasy is that it's more organic, that it expresses a different view of the world as it is actually constituted, while sci-fi revolves around human interference with the world.  This may be part of the reason that young chicks dig wizards and vampires but not time travel.  Have to think more about that.  Anyhow. 

The cancellation of this show led to one of the most unsatisfying series finales in history.  Although the Diffys finally fix the time machine, each family member secretly tries to sabotage it so they can stay in the past where they have carved out a pretty satisfying life.  Phil and Keely, after getting voted cutest couple, have even decided to officially date.  Yet despite that they leave anyway.  When none of them wants to go.  There's some underlying notion that people belong in their own time, but it's not expressed well enough to have this conclusion make sense.  They do forget Curtis the caveman in the last scene and have to go back for him, which might have been the opportunity for a third season or for everyone to reconsider the choice, but that doesn't happen explicitly.  Just one of what will be many examples of the even lesser regard for well-executed endings in children's TV than in the adult version. 

*Why is it always the vice principal?  Because the shows don't want to be seen undermining authority so it can't be the actual boss? 

**All commentary on gender presumes it to be socialized rather than inherent.  I'm making observations about contemporary social behavior rather than natural qualities. 

Totally Off-Topic Tuesday

Longtime readers may recall that I used to use this tag when I wanted to talk about the previous evening's Kyle XY episode, but since Kyle fell afoul of ABC Family's policy of canceling only decent shows while allowing abominations like Secret Life to remain on the air, I haven't used it much.  I'm thinking of starting on a new project, though, in which each week I write about a different classic children's show.  As a guide to how my particular taste runs, let me assure you that you will never, ever see Spongebob in this series.  For the purposes of the series, I'm leaving out shows that air/ed solely on PBS.  Many of them are excellent, but they're created for a different purpose than mainstream TV.    I'm compiling a master list of hits and near misses, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some things, so feel free to contribute in comments. 

Opening Weekend!

Time for my annual plug for readers to attend a Women's Pro Soccer game this season!  This weekend marks the first set of matches in WPS's second season, and excitement is high.  Even if you don't think of yourself as a soccer (or sports) fan, WPS is a fun, family-friendly, cost-effective way to enjoy the great outdoors and support some of the world's best female athletes at the same time.  Live soccer is much more fun than on TV, plus you can get great seats for a low price and the athletes are friendly and down-to-earth. 

Check out a team near you:

• Boston Breakers
• Washington Freedom
• Sky Blue FC (New Jersey/New York)
• Atlanta Beat
• Philadelphia Independence
• Chicago Red Stars
• Saint Louis Athletica 
• FC Gold Pride (Bay Area)